Syrian Expert House Participates in Workshops on Establishing Institutions in the Liberated Areas of Daraa Province

On Wednesday August 13th, 2014 and at the invitation of the Supervision and Studies Committee in Daraa, the Syrian Expert House (SEH) participated in a special workshop on establishing institutions and rebuilding, followed by another workshop on the Syrian judiciary and establishing a judicial system.

At the beginning of each workshop, attendees were briefed onSyria Transition Roadmap, and the methodology by which the document was drafted.

The Syrian activist Adnan Al-Mahamid affirmed at the conference the importance of establishing impartial structures including: civil services, a judicial system, and means to support the rule of law which should reflect the current situation on the ground. Furthermore, Mr. Al-Mahamid called for more coordination with the Syrian Interim Government and recognized the necessity to preserve the social fabric by adopting cautionary procedures and supporting the rule of law and institutions.

The workshop also addressed the Assad regime’s influence on mainstream social ideas such as tribalism and its impact on the political system. Additionally, the participants agreed that the Syrian revolution is only the first step to change that.

Furthermore, the participants discussed the current priorities including establishing the institutions that would be the very first core of future Syrian institutions and Syrian Transition Roadmap’svision to establish these institutions with excluding any political, sectarian, or security favoritisms in order to build these institutions on sound and right foundations to befit the sacrifices of the Syrian people.

Attendees expressed their concern over the fragility that the Syrian revolution institutions suffer from today such as the Syrian National Coalition and the local councils and acknowledged the necessity to adopt reform policies.

Moreover, the attendees were briefed on the Syrian Commission for Transitional Justice and its serious and continuous efforts that aim to refer the perpetrators of war crimes to the I.C.C or form a Syrian special court, in addition to benefit from the experiences of other countries in order to support reconciliation and the transitional justice process.